Annabeth Chase and the God of Fear
by SonoftheWater
Summary: Annabeth and Percy are on a date, when an old acquaintance of Percy's makes a sudden appearance, and he's out for revenge. Told from Annabeth's POV. Set between TLO & HoO.


My date started out pretty normal. My boyfriend, Percy Jackson, and I, were walking around central park. It was the middle of November so we were bundled up in coats and scarves which Sally, Percy's mom, had provided for us.

"Aren't snow and ice made of water?" Percy asked as he shivered.

"What?" I asked surprised. Obviously he knew the answer, he wasn't that dumb, I think.

"Snow and ice are made out of water, so shouldn't like Poseidon have control over it? Water equals ice, ice equals cold, I'm cold."

"Percy!" I said, exasperated. "You know that your dad only has control of some sources of water, there are plenty of deities and weather spirits that control this, including Zeus." He nodded, though he obviously wasn't happy with this reality.

We kept walking, holding hands, and stopped by a giant maple in the middle of the park and I couldn't help but smile. This past summer, during the second Titan War, Percy and the satyrs had encased the Titan Hyperion in this maple tree.

"Remember the hurricane you created to defeat Hyperion, that was pretty amazing" I said as I gripped his arm.

He turned towards me and we locked eyes. Over the last few years, Percy and I had been through a lot together. We'd faced many challenges and had a lot of close calls, but we always got through them, always together. During our second summer together, I started developing feelings for the guy. The time following that had been complicated, wish both us trying to balance the stress of the war and our confused feelings. A few months ago things had really started to heat up, I think we both knew that there was something there, but were too afraid to admit it to each other. See, there had been this great prophecy, that told of a child of the eldest gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, who would either save or destroy the world. The prophecy warned of a hero's death, and Chiron, our camp director, had allowed me to hear the prophecy. I assumed it meant that Percy was going to die, and I had tried to avoid getting hurt. As it turned out, the hero in the prophecy who was destined to die had been Luke, my old friend turned servant of the Titan Lord Kronos. He sacrificed his life to stop Kronos and ended the war. After that, Percy and I had finally admitted our feelings to each other, and we have been a happy couple ever since. Anyways, he smiled and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"You were pretty amazing yourself, Wise girl" He whispered.

I felt pretty giddy inside, but I coughed. "Still can't think of a better insult, Seaweed Brain?

He pouted, "Hey! give me a break, there's not much to go on ya know".

I smiled, and tilted my chin up to kiss him.

"How cute" a man's voice said, startling me.

We looked around, and saw a figure sitting on the nearest bench to the tree. He was dressed in a dark cloak, and his face was covered by a hood. Instinctively, I reached for bronze knife, that I carried with me wherever I went, yes even on dates.

"Who are you? Percy asked, regarding the figure.

"Why your worst nightmare of course, I told you there would be a next time Jackson.

The guy removed his hood and Percy gasped. He was a younger looking guy, maybe about 20, with piercing eyes and a fading scar on his cheek. Looking at him, I had a sense of dread, like he was looking into my mind, searching for my deepest secrets, and worst fears.

"Phobos" Percy scowled, "I thought I told you I didn't want to see your face again".

Now being a daughter of the Wisdom Goddess Athena, I had a pretty good idea who this guy was. Phobos, the minor God of Fear and immortal son of Ares, the War God. Now, usually I would scold Percy for talking to an immortal being like this, but Percy had the curse of Achilles, which pretty much meant he was invulnerable to any kind of attack. It also seemed that Percy had met this God before and won, which didn't completely surprise me considering my boyfriend was pretty powerful, even if he was a kelp head sometimes.

Phobos just smirked "I told you I'd be back Jackson, and this time brought friends".

Then, faster than I could processes, two smoky shapes materialized behind Percy, lifted him by the arms, and flew away over the New York skyline.


End file.
